Everything Fades
by CityGirl13
Summary: When strange circumstances lead the Fantastic 4 to meeting Shaelea Cartwright, a clock starts ticking once more but not on the fate of the world, on their own. And this time, the enemy they face is of their own making. Johnny/OC
1. Believe Me

"_She's losing her mind  
She's fallen behind  
And she can't find her place  
She's losing her faith"  
~Avril Lavigne, 'Nobody's Home'_

**AN: Shaelea is pronounced SHAY-LI**

Chapter 1: Believe Me

Shaelea hit the ground hard and cried out as her shoulder collided with that the unforgiving tarmac. Her head was still spinning from whatever drugs had been keeping her in a lucid state for the past few days, and being thrown from the back of a truck didn't help that. She pushed her brown hair out of her eyes and tried to lurch to her feet, but only succeeded in stumbling headfirst again. Screeching tires made her cringe from the grating sound, and she looked up just in time to see a white van pulling around the corner. She hadn't been able to see a licence plate, she had no way to identify it. Turning her face away from the road the van had taken, Shaelea realised that she'd been dumped right outside her house. Whoever had taken her, they didn't just know her haunts, they obviously knew a lot more.

She was shaking as she heaved her body into a standing position, muscles protesting after the rough treatment they'd been receiving, but she couldn't stay crumpled on the ground. She felt like a wreak, and probably looked it to. A cursory glance down her body told her that her clothes were crumpled and torn, she knew from touch that her hair would be a wild nest right now, and no doubt days without food had left her looking a little gaunt. But this wasn't one of those 'it looks worse than it is' moments. In comparison with how she looked, Shaelea felt worse, much worse.

Her head was pounding, as if something was hammering against her skull, trying to force a way through the bone. She'd never felt as worn out as she did now. Looking back at how she and her friends had complained about school cross-country leaving them tired, she almost laughed, but nothing more than a rasping choke came out of her throat. That's right… she'd had hardly any water, whatever they'd been using to keep her sustained, it hadn't been anything normal. But there was something more, something twisting and growing inside of her, she couldn't name it, and it scared her. It felt almost as if her insides were on fire, but she didn't feel the burn, only the heat.

Weakly, she stumbled back to her front door, fumbling slightly with the slippery door knob, before she managed to get back into the house. A smiling picture of her family greeted her, the first nice thing she'd seen in days. However, the feeling of returning home wouldn't last long.

"Michael? You're not meant to be home for another-"

Her mother's sentence cut off abruptly when she stepped into the corridor. Annie Cartwright's mouth fell open at the dishevelled sight of her 17 year old daughter, her green eyes, so like Shaelea's own, widened in shock. Shaelea knew she'd be expecting Michael, her little brother was a freshman, and had just discovered the world of soccer, which he always played on a Thursday afternoon. But Shaelea had been gone since Monday, though it seemed as if normal life had kept on going.

"Mum," she said, in a small voice, when her mother didn't say anything in greeting.

Several emotion flashed rapidly across Annie's eyes; surprise, concern, relief. Shaelea took a small step forwards, using the wall as a support, wanting nothing more than just a comforting hug from her mother. But then, the more frequent emotion came into being, anger.

"Shaelea Cartwright!" she exclaimed, "Where on _earth_ have you been!"

She flinched at the onslaught, "Mum, I-"

"Don't you 'mum' me!" Annie stepped closer, "You disappear for _days_, then turn up looking like that? For heaven's sake, girl, we had the police out looking for you!"

"But-"

Her mother help up a hand, "Save it, I have a call to make."

Shaelea bit her lip as her mother wandered over to the phone and dialled in a number, tapping her foot impatiently as she waited for someone to pick up. Shaelea let her eyes wonder over the pictures on the wall, to her, they screamed out the word _false_. All the laughing pictures of the family of four, not one of them showed her past the age of 15, Michael had only been 12 when the smiles stopped. Shaelea wasn't sure why the change had come about, but the family dynamic just hadn't been the same since then. She did however, have her suspicions. It was during that time that Shaelea's ex-best friend had been caught doing heroin, and she hadn't seen Rachel since then. But it was almost as if her parents thought she'd been involved, and had never trusted her again. An almost cold feeling had settled over the house, and Shaelea wished there was some way to alleviate it. She needed her mum right now, more than ever, she just needed her.

"Hello?" her mother's voice jerked her out of her thoughts, and she tried to make her mind concentrate on the conversation, "Hi, it's Annie Cartwright here. Yes, it's about that missing person's case. I'm just calling to say that you can call it off, my daughter has returned." She paused as whoever was on the other line spoke, then shook her head firmly, sending a two cold green daggers at Shaelea with a stare, "No, there won't be any need for that, I'm sure it was just teenage foolishness. Thank you for your assistance."

"Mum," Shaelea tried again as soon as the receiver was set down.

"I hope you have a good explanation young lady," Annie said; folding her arms as she assessed her daughter, "You disappear without a word for 3 days, then you walk back into the house looking like that? What have you been up to?"

"I was kidnapped," she replied softly.

Her mother looked at her, then laughed. A high, shrill, sound, containing no mirth whatsoever, "Kidnapped? Don't be stupid. No, I don't want to head anymore right now. Your father and brother will be home soon, you can tell us _all_ the trust when they get back. In the meantime, go and get yourself cleaned up."

"Please, just listen!" Shaelea begged.

"Stop." Her mother commanded, "Go upstairs, and have a shower. Get out of those filthy clothes and into something decent. I refuse to speak with you until you resemble a human being again."

Shaelea knew that nothing she said would get through to her mother right now. So, as her already battered mind struggled to hold back tears, she dragged her equally battered body up the stairs to her room. She managed to withhold the tears, right until she collapsed onto her bed, still unmade the way she'd left it on Monday morning. Something about the light blue walls covered in band posters, the familiar book-cluttered desk, the soft give of her bed as she sunk onto it. It was a little bit too much after 3 days strapped to a lab table, she couldn't take the contrast, and her already fractured mind cracked a little more.

She hated crying, it made her feel weak, but she cried now. She clutched her pillow close and sobbed like she hadn't done so for years, ever since the coldness had first descended upon the house. Images flashed across her mind. A white van pulling to a halt beside her, two people clambering out, a sharp stab of pain in her arm as she was injected with something, wanting to scream but unable to do so, the fog rolling in over her mind. Then; white walls, straps holding her down, masked people hovering close with injections at the ready, watching as red was pushed into her arm. That's when the burning started, the thrashing, the screaming. She heard and saw it all over and over in her mind, images that would be forever seared there.

"Shaelea. Shaelea!"

She didn't realise that she'd fallen asleep, until she felt a hand on her shoulder shaking her back into wakefulness. Her wide green eyes snapped open, and she jerked into a sitting position, something she regretted soon after as her muscles gave a small protest, but thankfully nowhere near as bad as it had been previously. Concerned blue eyes met hers, looking out from beneath some stray strands of blonde hair. She sighed in relief.

"You were screaming," he noted, "What happened? Where have you been? Mum's not telling me anything, and she wants you downstairs now."

"Was I? I didn't realise I'd fallen asleep..." She put a hand to her still throbbing head, "What time is it?"  
"It's 5:30," he replied, "Why is mum so mad at you?"  
Shaelea bit her lip, "I don't know, little brother, I really don't know."  
She pushed herself up off her bed, not enjoying the fact that she was relinquishing the comfort, but she needed to speak with her parents. Michael tailed her closely as she walked out of the door, which turned out to be a good thing when he caught her just before she tripped on the stairs.  
"Whoa there," he said as he grabbed her arm, "You okay?"  
She winced, he had chosen a sensitive spot to grab, "I'm...I'll tell you at the same time as mum and dad."  
He didn't look happy, but nodded, "Alright, but take it easy. Shit, you look like you've been dragged through hell."  
"I just might have been," she murmured softly, and thankfully, he didn't hear her.  
Her parents were standing beside each other when their children entered the room, and as she always did, felt a bit like the literal black sheep with her dark hair and average height in a family of tall blondes. Both Cartwright parents were sharing one thing in common at this moment, a steely core that was glimpsed through their eyes. She'd often talked with Michael about it, he too had noticed their change, and it unsettled him. Right now, they also wore matched stares of disapproval as Shaelea walked into the room. Her mother's expression deepened to a frown as she took in her daughter's appearance.  
"I thought I told you to go and make yourself presentable," she said in annoyed tones.  
"Mum, she was asleep, I guess whatever she went through was-"  
"Silence," Geoff cut over his son's defence of his daughter, "Shaelea can speak for herself, can she not?"  
"Sorry, dad," Michael muttered.  
"Well?" Geoff questioned, "Why didn't you do as your mother said? God knows you're already in enough trouble as it is."  
"I fell asleep," she said, "I-"  
"I'm afraid that's just not good enough," Annie put in, "You can't gallivant off for days, then come back and flout your parents' requests like this."  
"Well, where have you been anyway?" Geoff questioned, "3 days is a long time without word, and your mother has no doubt already informed you we even had the police out searching."  
"She says she was 'kidnapped'," Annie said sceptically, making her husband scoff lightly.  
Shaelea was getting increasingly tired with having her parents talking over the top of her head.  
"Please," she almost begged, "Let me just tell you what happened."  
"Alright then, tell us," Geoff commanded: crossing his arms, the look of doubt already upon his face.

She took a deep breath to calm her shaking voice, then began, "I was walking back from school on Monday, I wasn't even on the main road, and this white van pulled up beside me. Before I could do anything, two people jumped out of it and grabbed me. I tried to run and struggle, but they didn't let me go. After I was put in the van, a third person gave me some kind of injection, and I lost consciousness. When I woke up again, I was strapped down to this lab table, and I couldn't move, I was so scared."

She bit her lip and screwed her eyes shut for a moment, seeing it all as clearly as it had been in her dreams, but she had to continue before her parents took advantage of the pause in her speech.

"They all talked in whispers, I could hardly hear, but I kept on hearing 'experiment', I was terrified. They gave me more injections, all over, but the one that hurt most was this red one. After that, it felt like something in my head was waiting to explode out, and I still feel like I'm burning all over on the inside. After that, everything became lucid, and the only solid memory I have is when they threw me out of the back of the van onto the street outside out house."

"Oh god…" Michael whispered, as if to himself, worry written all over his young face.

Shaelea didn't take her eyes off her parents, watching their faces closely, she searched vainly for some kind of sign that they believed her story. But their eyes remained hard, their stance was unimpressed, and the next words out of her mother's mouth came like a blow.

"Shaelea, you think concocting some kind of elaborate fiction is going to get you out of trouble for what you've done?"

The shock of that question drove Shaelea back, she stumbled, and thankfully landed on the couch, abject shock on her face.

"Mum, why would I lie about something like that?"

"To save yourself grief over being away from home so long and causing such a disturbance," Annie justified, "Though why you think _that_ story would help your case, I have no idea."

"I'm not lying!" she exclaimed, "How could I even come up with that?"

"You always did have a strong imagination," Geoff pointed out, "This is just something you envisioned, I hope you're having fun with this, young lady, the trouble you're in certainly hasn't been lessened with your lies."

She gaped, hugging her arms around her middle, all she could manage was a soft whisper, "Believe me, please, believe me."

Michael was looking at his parents with disbelief, how were they doing this? How could they say those things to their daughter, while she was clearly in no fit state, what kind of parenting was this?

"Would you two stop it!" he burst out, "Can't you just _look_ at her and see she's clearly telling the truth? What kind of person would come up with a story like that? It cannot be anything _but_ the truth."

"Michael, stay out of this," Geoff warned.

"I won't, she's my sister, and _your_ daughter. Just open your eyes," Michael went to sit by her, "What kind of liar suffers like this?"

He looked down, and Shaelea silently extended one of her arms to him, so that he could see the bruises and small pricks left by the many needles, all up her arm. He hissed in anger.

"See!" he exclaimed; gently holding her arm out to their parents, "Just take a look."

Her mother stalked close and took a single look at her arm, before her disapproval morphed into anger, "This is just like that Rachel girl all over again!"

"What?" Michael questioned.

"Mum, I'm not doing drugs!" Shaelea protested.

"What's this?" Geoff walked over and inspected his daughter's arm, "Oh god… we knew you were a bit off the rails, but this? I'm disappointed in you, Shaelea."

She was getting hysterical, how could they not believe her? She knew they didn't trust her, but who would lie about being kidnapped like that?

Annie looked up at her husband, "This explains her wild story, she was under the influence and her mind created some kind of escape so she wouldn't be found out. I should have guessed, when she came home, her pupils were dilated."

"The only thing that's been in my system has been whatever those people injected into me! You know me, please. Mum, dad, you _know_ I'd never do drugs."

Annie's lips were pressed into a thin line, "Ever since that friend of yours, I just haven't been sure that I know you, Shaelea."

"I'm not Rachel!" she defended.

"You two are being ridiculous, how did you come to that whacked conclusion?" Michael questioned.

"Son, stop defending the girl, you don't have to try cover up her lies," Geoff said.

"You are the one doing the covering up," Michael shot back at his father.

"Don't you start emulating her," Geoff warned, "As for you, Shaelea, your actions wont' go without consequences."

"We'll have to send her to a rehab," Annie put in.

Geoff nodded, "Yes, that's the best course of action. I'll make the calls tonight, and in the morning, you'll be gone."

Annie shook her head at her daughter, "The shame you're bringing on this family."

Michael stood angrily, "You two are the one's bringing the shame."

Before they could reply, he'd already stormed out of the room, in the dead silence that followed, Shaelea heard his steps up the stairs, and the slamming of his bedroom door.

"Great, now she's turned out son against us," Annie muttered, "You go make the calls, I need to lie down."

Geoff nodded, and with final looks of disappointed anger at their daughter, the Cartwright parents left the room. Shaelea found that she felt unable to move. How… how had they done that? How had they just assumed right off that she as lying? Whatever else they thought of her, she had hoped they might know her enough to understand she'd never lie about something like that. But it seems she was wrong. She hugged herself tightly, and now they were sending her away. The pounding in her head increased, she felt like she must burst from the inside out, and knew in her heart that her parents wouldn't even shed a tear at that.

"Believe me," she whispered to herself in a choked voice, "Please, please believe me."

**Eh heh, so, like it? Review perhaps? :) Thank you for reading!**


	2. Let It Burn

"_I feel the fire flare alight inside me  
Higher so I can see  
'n aspire to survive this fight in spite of  
Liars and travesty  
Oh fire"  
~Poets Of The Fall, 'Fire'_

**Thanks for reviewing: anon, ****Arinlianette, Sam0728,**

Chapter 2: Let It Burn

Shaelea tossed and turned, but no matter what, she didn't seem able to sleep. How had she managed to drift off so easily before, and yet was unable to now? The pounding in her head had only gotten worse, as had the burning in her body, but somehow it wasn't that. Over and over again, her mind kept churning over what had happened with her parents this evening. Her mind reeled from their decision, and their inability to believe her. They thought she'd concocted the story as some cover for running off and doing drugs… how? She knew that they didn't trust her, but that? It was just a little too much for her brain to handle.

She remembered her father's words when he'd come back into the living room and found her still on the couch.

"_You leave in the morning, I'll drive you to the Windham Centre, and there you will stay," a cold look had been sent her way, "Go and pack your things."_

"_How long will I be gone?" she'd asked._

"_That is entirely up to you," he replied, "But don't hurry back."_

'Don't hurry back', the words another slap in the face reminder that her parents had probably now reached the stage where they didn't want her anymore. Shaelea wanted to cry over that, but at the same time she didn't. All that would do was give them satisfaction, and they'd only see her as being even weaker than they thought. The door cracked open, and Shaelea heard the soft sound of footsteps, followed by a light creak as the door shut once more.

"Shaelea? You awake?" her brother whispered.

She pushed herself up into a sitting position, "Hey, Michael. Yeah, I can't sleep."

"I don't believe them," he seethed, "How can they just pack you off to rehab when you haven't done anything?"

"Because they think I have," she replied, "Nothing I say is going to change their minds, nor anything out of your mouth either. I just… I wish I could make them see I'm telling the truth!"

"I do believe _you_; no one would lie about something like that. But…oh god, Shaelea, I'm so sorry, what did they do to you at the place you were taken?" he asked; sitting by her, "Oh, actually, don't answer. You probably don't want to talk about it."

Shaelea thought about that for a moment, and his question automatically called the whole experience to mind, she could see it all in crystalline detail. Everything she'd felt during that time rushed back, and for several moments she couldn't answer him. When she did, her voice shook slightly, despite her trying to stop it.

"No, it's okay. I… you believe me, I can tell you. It's harder with mum and dad, when you're trying to tell people something this big, and they don't believe you. I mean, I know they don't like me-"

"Shaelea!" he protested; futilely, they both knew she was right, "They're just…"

"Exactly," she said when he couldn't counter argue, "I just thought that they'd at least believe this."

"They're unbelievable, I hate them," he muttered.

"Don't say that, don't ruin your own relationship with them," she said.

Even though she couldn't see his expression due to the darkness, she could mentally picture the incredulous look upon it, displayed by his tone.

"You're seriously worried about that? Now? Sis, c'mon, there's no way I'm going to be able to _stand_ them if they go through with this!"

"You're only 15, you still need them," she pointed out.

"So do you," he retorted.

She sighed; pulling her knees up to her chin so she was curled in a ball and screwed her eyes shut, "And anyway, dad's taking me tomorrow."

"He can't!" Michael exclaimed, "That's whacked!"

"Not to them," she whispered.

"We're off topic," he noted, "Unless, you really don't want to talk about it and were just humouring your curious bro."

"Well, basically like what I told you all before. Only… I feel really weird now. It's like my head has something in there trying to get out, and I feel like I'm burning," she said.

Michael shifted closer, and put a hand to her forehead, "You don't _feel_ hot."

"I already tried that," she said dryly.

He shrugged, "Hey, you know what you _could_ do?"

"What?" she inquired; feeling a little apprehensive at his brother's eager tone, "I don't exactly have time before I get put into rehab."

"Well, if you think about it, they're not going to keep you there. You haven't _actually_ done drugs, so how will they hold you?" he questioned.

Shaelea thought for a moment, he was…right. How had she not seen that? Too caught up in worry and sadness to think, she was so stupid.

"Michael, I love you," she said.

He laughed, "Thanks, but as I was saying, you should call the Fantastic 4."

She sighed, she should have seen that one coming. The Fantastic 4 were her brother's personal heroes, he just loved them. Okay, so it might not be 'cool' for a 15 year old to still be as into it as he was, but he literally had all the action figures and a lot of merchandise besides. To him, they were almost gods, sort of. He particularly liked Mr. Fantastic, so Shaelea guessed the angle of his next sentence.

"I mean, Mr. Fantastic is crazy smart, I'm sure he'll be able to figure out what happened."

"Michael, I appreciate it, but I don't think this is the sort of thing you go to the Fantastic 4 for. They deal with way more serious things."

"More serious? Shaelea, you were juts kidnapped and experimented on, now you feel out of sorts, it's pretty much their forte!" he protested.

She rubbed a hand over her eyes, "I'll make you a deal?"

"What kind of deal…?" he sounded suspicious.

"I'm… I'll go along with mum and dad, because they'll never be satisfied unless they hear it from the Centre that I'm clean, after-"

"Why are you letting them rule you?" he demanded.

That question drew her up short, and she found that she had no answer for him. Ever since this had started, she'd known the reason, but had never pushed back. She was afraid that if she did so, it would only serve to further her parents' soured opinion of her. So instead, she had done _everything_ that they asked, she'd mostly avoided things that would disappoint them. And yet, it had never worked. Would it make a difference if she fought back? Would she ever put that to the test?

"Shaelea?" he prompted.

She shook her head, as if to clear it, but that only made her feel more muddled thanks to the throbbing, "Go to bed, Michael, I'll see you sometime after I get out."

She started feeling angry at herself, as she looked back at how she'd been over the past few years. Would _nothing_ show her parents that she was a good kid? Would nothing convince them of the truth? Faintly, she could hear Michael talking in the background, but her mind was too caught up. The pounding increased, until there was a point at which it suddenly burst out. She couldn't feel it anymore, and the burning had fled into a tingling warmth.

"SHAELEA!"

Her mind snapped back into her, and she glanced across at Michael. His eyes were wide and she could see the fear in his expression, as if a bright light was shining on his face. Wait… light? Where from?

"Your arm!" he exclaimed; pointing, and having to scramble back to fall off the bed when she jerked it up to see.

She stared in abject horror at her right arm, shaking it, as if that would dispel the anomaly. It didn't, it only spread up from her forearm to her shoulder, and her entire arm was engulfed in flames. She screamed, a loud screech or terror, she was on _fire!_ Then she became more frightened, when she realised she could not feel heat, only warmth. Her skin wasn't burning, how was that possible?

"I'm on fire!" she cried out; stating the obvious, but not really knowing what else to say.

Michael ran into her en-suite and shoved her towel into the sink, running water all over it, "We have to put it out! Oh god."

He came back and threw the towel over her arm, and the fire was extinguished. Shaelea kept on watching her arm, breathing heavily, what had just happened? Cautiously, she lifted up the towel, there were no burns on her skin. Michael turned on the light and came closer.

"How bad is…" he trailed off, "There are no burns…"

She turned to look at him, "What's wrong with me?"

He opened his mouth to reply, but then her arm was alight again.

"AHH!" she exclaimed; scooting off her bed and backing away from him when he reached out to her, "No, get out! Get away! I don't know what it is, stay back!"

He looked torn, but didn't move, instead, he tilted back his head and yelled with all his might, "_MUM! DAD!"_

Annie and Geoff Cartwright rushed to their daughter's room upon hearing their son's cries, but they arrested their movement instantly when they caught sight of Shaelea. Standing on the far side of the room, the fire had spread from her right arm to flow over her back and down her left arm as well, as if she now had inferno limbs. To say they looked shocked, would have been an understatement, their mouths gaped open at the sight.

"Please, mum, dad, help me!" she called out.

When she raised her arms, as if to reach out to them, that's when they sprang into actions. Annie screamed and grabbed her son close, while Geoff moved to stand between the rest of him family and his burning daughter.

"What _are _you?" he demanded.

Michael shoved his mother off, "You have to help her!"

"Please, I don't know-"

Shaelea stopped her own sentence short when a ball of fire shot from her arm, moving past her family, and colliding with the wall opposite her. It crashed through and she saw it explode into a bigger flame, starting to consume the house.

"She's trying to kill us!" Annie screamed.

"Get out!" Geoff roared; pushing her to the door.

"No, Shaelea!" Michael protested and tried to run to his sister, but his father grabbed up and dragged him from the room without looking back.

She could hear Michael yelling at their parents to let him go, but it was as if she was hearing things through fog, and watching the scenes before her through smoked glass. She held her hands in front of her, turning them over, trying to comprehend how the fire was on them. Then another fireball shot out, and with another loud crash, more of the house was on fire. Shaelea looked down at her body, seeing that it was now entirely flame covered. What was happening to her?

She wanted to run and leave the house, but if she did that, this _thing_ might hurt someone. She couldn't control it, she couldn't even _feel_ that heat around her. Was this a result of whatever had been done to her in that lab? Was this permanent? She sunk to the floor and curled herself into a ball, she could hear the fire raging around her, and the crashes from when more fire shot out of her, but she didn't want to see it anymore.

"What am I?" she whispered to herself, "What have I become?"

**/*0*/**

Michael struggled and kicked as his father bore him through the now burning house.

"That girl is mad!" his mother exclaimed.

"Can't you see how scared she was? We have to help her!" he protested.

"No, we have to get out before she kills us all," Geoff said, "I don't even know what that thing was, but it was no relation to me."

"It was Shaelea, it was your daughter," Michael spat back, "If you'd listen to her story earlier, you'd know she'd been experimented on. Why did you think she was lying? And now look! We can't leave her in there."

"Didn't you see her?" Annie demanded, "She was on fire!"

"EXACTLY!" Michael exclaimed; shoving free of his father and trying to run back to the house.

Geoff caught his arm though, "You can't going back in there, if she dies, she had it coming for pulling that. You aren't risking yourself."

"What kind of parents are you?" Michael demanded, "This is sick!"

But he knew, he knew if he ran back in there he'd burn. He himself didn't know what was stopping it from affecting Shaelea, beyond that his sister had been definitely changed by whatever had been done to her. But, if she was able to remain un-burnt from the fire on her skin, she'd probably still be in the house and be fine.

"SHAELEA!" he yelled, "Shaelea! If you can hear me, get out of the house!"

But his dad clapped a hand over his mouth, "Stop that, do you want to endanger the entire neighbourhood?"

Michael resumed his struggling, and managed to break free again when the fire department showed up. He ran up to them before his parents could stop him. Several men started setting up the hose, and Michael grabbed onto the arm of the supervisor.

"Please, my sister is still in there, she's burning but not being hurt. I don't know what it is, call the Fantastic 4, they might know more."

His words came out in a big rush, but the man seemed to have heard him, just not understood, "Son, what are you saying?"

"My sister's on fire, but not being burnt," Michael tried to slow his words down, "She's in the house, I don't know what's wrong with her. Call the Fantastic 4."

"I think you're just confused," the fireman said, "Don't worry, we'll get your sister out."

"No!" Annie protested, "She did this! She set the house on fire."

The man frowned, "Ma'am, we have a duty to get all survivors out, and there's a chance she'll still be alive."

Annie's laughter sounded almost crazed, "Oh, she's alive, she's the one _on_ fire. It's not natural, just leave her!"

At this confirmation from the mother, he had to admit that the kid might have been saying something true. He went back to the truck and grabbed out the radio.

"This is Sergeant Tim Delaware, yes, I'm at the site of the house fire. I need you to get the Fantastic 4 here, it's an emergency. Make the Johnny Storm a priority."

He hung it back up after the confirmation came in, and turned back to Michael.

"There, they'll be here. Now, let's see about getting your sister out."

**Well damn…what was meant to only be chapter filling turns into a while chapter, oh well! Hope you readers enjoyed it, please tell me a yes or no to that!**


	3. In Pieces

"_So go on and bring your wings  
Follow your heart  
Till it bleeds  
As we run towards the end of the dream"  
~Evanescence, 'End Of The Dream'_

**Thanks for reviewing: Zs, ****Sam0728, Maddie Rose, Arinlianette, killerchaos,**

**AN: I have a joint account with my friend Maddie Rose, we are: **_**Warden Of The West**_**. I tell you this because we have a joint Avengers fic up called '****Revolution Roulette****', and I'd love it if you wanted to check that out!**

**Sam0728: Shaelea's 17 years old, and just graduated from her Senior year.**

Chapter 3: In Pieces

Johnny Storm was smirking arrogantly as he sauntered back into the penthouse the Fantastic 4 shared in the Baxter Building. Just a typical evening spent out and around the city for him, meeting and flirting with beautiful young women, god he loved his life right now. But he had to admit, things had been getting… a little dull for the Fantastic 4, in terms of work. Nothing major had happened since the Silver Surfer incident, almost a year back now, and Johnny found himself getting restless.

Oh sure, it was brilliant and everything, the earth was in no danger and shit. But still… he loved excitement, and right now, he just wasn't getting any of it. Which is why he was fairly surprised to see the rest of his team all suited up and apparently waiting for him.

He arched an eyebrow, "Something you guys aren't telling me?"

"Where have you been?" his sister demanded.

"Whoa," he held up his hands as if he was fending off an attack, "Calm down, what's going on?"

"We've been called about a house fire, they need our help," Reed explained.

Okay, so Johnny knew his brother in law was a genius, but that just sounded stupid.

"A house fire?" he repeated; sounding heavily sceptical.

"Yeah, need your ears checked kid?" Ben inquired, "Suit up."

"A house fire?" Johnny said yet again, "C'mon, seriously?"

"This isn't a joke, Johnny!" Susan snapped.

"You gotta be kidding me," he said bluntly, "We're a group of four super-human superheroes, and we're called in, for a _house fire_? What's next? Old lady gets her cat stuck up a tree and needs Mr. Fantastic to reach it down for her?"

Susan's glare narrowed in on her little brother, but Reed cut his wife off before she could speak again, "There's more to it than that, Johnny. There's a girl trapped in there, her little brother says-"

"So?" Johnny questioned, "Isn't it part of the fire department's job to get people out of burning houses?"

"Shut up and let him finish," Ben grumbled.

Johnny shot him a glare, but then turned his attention back to Reed, "Fine, what else?"

"Her brother says that she caught on fire, her mother claims that the girl was 'trying to kill them' and burn down the house."

"Spontaneous combustion?" Johnny inquired, "Here I thought that was just an urban myth…myself excluded, of course. At any rate, won't she be dead by now then?"

"If you would just shut up and let Reed finish, you'd hear that she was burning, but not being burnt," Susan put in, "_Now_ do you get the urgency?"

Johnny was still a little disbelieving of the story, "That kind of thing isn't possible, you sure the kid wasn't just seeing things?"

"It's backed up by the parents, and I was told that they sounded pretty damn sure," Reed said.

"Like I said, suit up," Ben commanded.

"Right…" Johnny was actually starting to believe them, and since he pretty much lived in his suit, he just began stripping down to it, "Where's this fire?"

"34 Hunter's Avenue," Reed relayed; as the three began making their way to the lift, "Come on."

Johnny just shook his head and turned away, "See you there."

While the majority of his team would take the car to the location, Johnny had no trouble with just launching himself off the Baxter Building with his trademark, "Flame on!" and making his own way to the site.

The whole story was just weird, and a part of him probably still thought he'd get there and it would just have been a normal house fire. Cause seriously, another person able to set themselves alight? It just wasn't possible, only reason Johnny could was thanks to that space could thing that Reed had been studying, and he highly doubted that someone else had undergone the same process. So what the hell could have caused it?

He managed to find the place easy enough, he roughly knew the area it was in, so once he got close picking out a fire wasn't that hard. There was a fairly big commotion going on outside, and when he was within earshot, he found out why.

"Just leave her! She tried to kill us!" a blonde woman was practically screeching and trying to push a fireman back from the house, only to be held back by someone else.

"Why are you trying to save her?" a man asked, "This was her doing."

"Sir, ma'am, that's your daughter in there," a fireman pointed out.

Johnny landed right in front of the couple, making them jump back in shock at the suddenness. He got rid of the fire around himself and looked them over, "Worst parents."

"Human Torch!" a teen boy came up to him, with probably the most freaked out blue eyes Johnny had seen, "Please, you gotta help my sis. She's in there, burning, and I don't-"

"Whoa, calm down kiddo," Johnny said, "Talk with spaces."

He opened his mouth to speak again, but was cut off when a fireman stepped up to Johnny.

"Where is the rest of the team?" he asked.

"Coming," Johnny replied, "So, what's the situation, and why is the girl still in there?"

"We can't enter, it's too hot for our suits to handle," the man explained, "I've never seen a normal house fire rage at that temperature, or any fire for that matter."

"Fire hotter than normal?" Johnny grinned, "No problem."

He turned towards the house and walked in, having to end up half clambering over the caved in door, but he didn't want to blast through, he had no idea where exactly this girl was, and didn't want to hurt her. Thinking on it, it probably would have, but Johnny wasn't about to go taking chances. Only when he looked around, eyes having to strain through the flames and smoke, did he see what kind of a condition the house was in. The ceiling had caved in at more than one location, making the formally two storey house just one, and leaving piles of wreckage scattered all over the place.

"Hello? Who's in here?" he called out.

No one answered, he sighed heavily, "Yay, hide and seek in the flames."

There was a crashing sound from upstairs, and a whole lot of burning debris nearly landed on top of Johnny as it fell through the hole he was standing under.

"Right, upstairs it is," he noted; quickly engulfing himself in fire to shoot the short distance to the second floor.

Despite having been pre-warned from the reports, Johnny hadn't full believed it till now, but he couldn't deny it any longer. A girl lay curled up on the floor, her body completely covered in flames, and yet she was totally unharmed. He just stood in shock for a moment, how in the world was this possible? But then, he had to jump out of the way when a fireball shot out of her and headed for him.

"Whoa!"

She looked up at the sound of his yell and screamed, jerking to her feet and scrambling back from him, "Stay back!"

Okay, Johnny would be lying if he said he did _not_ notice that she had the same problem as he used to. Namely; un-fireproof clothing. But he quickly shoved that thought aside…mostly.

"Well, I can honestly say that is the first time I've had that reaction from a girl," he noted.

"Get away!" she exclaimed, "I can't stop it, it'll hurt you!"

"Thanks for the head's up, but I think I'll be fine," he said; gesturing to himself, "Being on fire is all a part of my job."

She held up her hands, "Just go!"

"Let's just, calm down," he moved in a bit closer, "C'mon, we need to get you out of here."

"I can't stop it!" she exclaimed, "I don't know how."

"Well, how about you just-"

Before he could finish his sentence, more fire came out of her, this time, blowing a hole in the floor between them. This was a bit much for the damaged house though, and the whole place started creaking and crumbling. When he saw the girl starting to stumble and nearly go over, he didn't even think before he flamed on and grabbed her, lowering them more slowly towards the first floor of the house. She was still clearly freaked out though, and struggled in his grip the moment they landed.

"Calm down!" he said, "You have to get out of here, and put out the fire."

"I _can't_," she retorted, "Just leave me."

He sighed, "Not gonna happen."

She didn't seem like she was going to give in, and he legitimately believed that she had no clue how to tone down her own flames. He needed to get her out of this house, but he couldn't carry her out while she was still burning and had fire shooting out of her at odd times. Johnny thought furiously, how did he flame off himself? Well, normally he just…controlled it, but otherwise water worked, or if he fell unconscious. But he wasn't likely to get any water in here easily, that left one option…

"Sorry about this, you'll thank me later, hopefully."

Before she could speak anymore, he dealt her a hard blow to the back of the head, and she slumped in his arms with a small cry. He felt kind of guilty, it was definitely weird to knock out some teen and carry her, especially considering she was unclothed, but he had to get over that and focus. At least the fire around her had died down the moment she lost consciousness, and Johnny didn't waste any time carrying her back out of the house.

"Shaelea! Shaelea!" the boy from before came running up to him almost at once, "Is she okay?"

"That her name? Yeah, she's fine," Johnny assured, "At least, I think she is."

"Michael! Get away from her!" the mother cried; rushing forward to pull her son back.

"Can't you see she's unconscious? Don't you care?" the kid demanded.

Johnny opened his mouth to have a serious go at the parents, but unfortunately his team had pretty good timing.

"What happened?" Susan asked; rushing up to the group.

"Like you said, she was on fire, but she's fine. I think," Johnny replied, "Hey, anyone got anything we can kinda cover her with?"

"Pass her to me, we'll check her over," one of the firemen said.

Johnny was fine complying with this, and was able to turn his attention back to the parents of the girl.

"You want to explain something here? Namely, your complete lack of care for your own daughter?"

"She just tried to kill us!" The man protested.

"She can't control what's happening to her, I can assure you of that, she's just scared," Johnny shot back.

"Can someone just tell me why this happened?" Reed asked.

"She came home today, having been gone for three days, and she'd no doubt been off doing drugs, but she made up this wild story about being kidnapped and experimented on-"

Michael vut his mother off, "You still call it a story? After THAT! Whatever was done to her, that's what caused this."

"Okay, I saw we listen to the kid," Johnny put in, "Sounds like a more fitting story."

"No, he's our son, you can't question him," the man said, "I won't allow it."

"You know what? I don't really give a crap about what you allow," Johnny retorted.

Ben came up to them at that point, "There a problem here?"

The parents, whatever their names may be, backed down upon seeing The Thing. Most people did, and Ben was probably using that when he walked up. Reed looked down at the teen.

"Okay, tell us from the start," he said gently.

"She came home, and was really weak apparently, mum said-"

"Kid, you gotta remember to talk slower," Johnny butted in, "Can't understand a word coming out your mouth."

Michael took a deep breath, and tried to calm himself down. None of this was excitement over meeting the Fantastic 4, it was all worry for his sister, and for her sake he tried to get a grip on himself.

"She was really weak and acting strange when she got home," he began again, "She told us that she'd been kidnapped after school on Monday, and in some kind of lab, they did stuff to her. She said she had a headache and felt like she was burning all over. Mum and dad didn't believe her though, they thought she was on drugs, and dad was gonna take her to a rehab tomorrow. But-"

"I'm sorry, they didn't believe her?" Johnny interjected.

Michael nodded, "I don't understand myself, Shaelea doesn't lie, but they think she does."

Johnny glared over at them, and took a step forwards, but his sister grabbed his arm.

"Johnny, not the time or place," she reminded him, "We need to figure out what happened to this girl, and not worry about the parents for now."

He clenched his jaw, not happy, but prepared to keep his silence. For now.

"And then?" Reed prompted; following Johnny's disturbance.

"I went to talk to her, I knew she was telling the truth," Michael continued, "And she said she felt all weird, then her arm just burst into flames. I covered it in a wet towel, but it only happened again! I didn't know what to do, and it started spreading all over her. I yelled out to mum and dad, but they didn't help her, only dragged me out of the house and wouldn't let me back in."

"How loving..." Ben grumbled; and Johnny agreed with him completely, a rare occurrence.

"That's all?" Reed checked.

Michael nodded, "After that, I don't know how she was. Till the Human Torch carried her out."

Reed sighed, "This is all a great big mystery..."

"One that we need to solve," Susan added.

"Can you help her?" Michael asked; sounding desperate, "Please, you have to! I told her to go to you, tomorrow or something, and get your help. Please, can you do something? Anything?"

"I can't say," Reed admitted: raking a hand through his hair, "I need to take a proper look at her, figure out what her condition is."

"We should take her back with us," Ben said; shrugging when Susan shot him a questioning look, "What? It's the smartest option, Reed needs to study her, and therefore he needs his lab."

"It would be helpful to have her at the lab," Reed agreed, "But I'll need her parents' permission, and I need to get have back off the firemen before they take her to hospital."

"Allow me," Johnny offered, "I can probably carry her a whole lot easier than you can, no offence, but you have the muscles of a scientist."

"Not a lot then…" Ben translated in what classed as a murmur for him.

"I'll talk to her parents," Susan said; running a hand through her hair, "Make sure they don't mind us taking their daughter off after something like this."

"Something just makes me think they won't mind a bit," Johnny muttered; turning away to stride towards the firemen.

The girl had been wrapped up in a blanket, and they were checking her vitals, the same officer from before came up to Johnny when he saw him approaching.

"We've called an ambulance, but she seems to be fine, all accept for a high temperature," he frowned, "Hotter than is good for a human."

"Don't worry about it, and you might want to cancel that ambulance," Johnny said, "Dr. Richards wants to examine her in his own lab, see if we can figure out exactly what happened to make the girl turn out like this."

The other man sighed, "Fair enough, the whole issue is just strange, but I guess you guys are the best to handle strange."

Johnny gently picked the girl up again, "Yeah, sure, that's us. The go-to guys for weird and wacky."

Reed had set about making the backseat of the car more comfortable for her, and Johnny put her down as soon as he got the go ahead. He looked her over carefully, she couldn't be far over 16, and Johnny felt a stab of pity for her. This wasn't going to be easy. At least when the four of them had found out about their powers, they knew the reason why it had happened. Here, they were totally in the dark.

"Let's get out of here," Susan said angrily when she came back to them, "Before I hurt someone."

"Fun parents, huh?" Johnny inquired.

"Tell you back home," she replied, "You go on ahead."

"Was going to anyway," he retorted; but flamed on pretty quick when she shot him a glare.

This was going to be an interesting next few days while Reed tried to figure out what was wrong with her, and frankly, Johnny was happy to leave it all up to him. Dealing with hysterical teens...not fun. But the whole situation was weird, looked to him as if she had to exact same powers, but literally _no_ control over them.

"Could be fun," he mused to himself, "Then again…could be very un-fun as well."


	4. Something New

"_I'll tear myself away  
If that what you need  
There is nothing left to say"  
~A Fine Frenzy, 'Ashes And Wine'_

**Thanks for the review: Zs, ****Killerchaos, Maddie Rose,** **Arinlianette**

**Zs: Naww, thanks! :P  
Maddie Rose: Thanks, so worried I'm gonna mess them up…**

Chapter 4: Something New

"Okay, so what happened with the parents?" Johnny asked the moment Reed and Susan stepped out of the lift, "And where's the girl?"

"Ben's bringing her," Reed replied.

"Some people, just _shouldn't_ be parents!" Sue seethed.

Johnny arched an eyebrow, "How did they take it?"

"They were practically overjoyed to have her gone, the mum kept saying 'take her, don't even bring her back, we don't want her'," she said, "I'm not even a mother, though I guess I had practice with Johnny, but that's just wrong!"

"I resent that!" Johnny protested.

"Not the point," she retorted, "I mean, they were even going on about how they would disown her, after she's just been through that? Argh."

"Are they serious though?" Reed questioned, "Maybe it's just…trauma from what happened?"

"_They're_ going through trauma?" Johnny scoffed at the thought, "I'm sorry, but I don't think they know the meaning of it in comparison to what she went through."

"What was it that she went through anyway?" Sue inquired, "I asked the firemen there about why they hadn't gone in, and they told me the house was burning at unnatural temperatures, kinda like Johnny himself."

"Why thank you, sis," he remarked dryly.

"Could you take this seriously for five minutes?" she snapped back, "You were there, tell us what happened."

He held his hands up in surrender, "Alright, alright, sheesh. I got there and she was still in the house, so I asked what had happened and I'm pretty sure they just told me as much as they told you. The kid kept trying to explain, but not really in understandable English, I guess we'll have to wait for her to wake up before we get the full story. Anyway," he continued, before his sister could urge him back on topic, "I can't find her on the first floor, so I go up, and she's just standing in the middle of the room on fire. You know how I burn? It was like that, and she kept on having fireballs shooting out of her. One kinda broke the floor, so I had to grab her before she hit the ground, which she seemed to struggle against on top of having screamed when she saw him. Have never had _that_ happen before, it was a very strange experience."

"Can we skip the pervy commentary?" Reed questioned, "Just get on with it, Johnny."

"Calm down," he muttered, "After that, she was just freaking out."

"Oh, you think?" Susan cut in sarcastically.

"Hey, you _want_ me to finish?" he retorted; and she nodded while glaring at him, "Good, now as I was saying, she was totally losing it. I needed to get her out, I could hear that the house was not all that far off caving in on us, I'm only fireproof, not debris-proof. But she just wouldn't calm down, and I didn't know how to get her to tone down the fire, she said she wasn't in control. So I uh…" he raked a hand through his short hair, "I kinda knocked her out."

Reed arched his eyebrows, "Pardon?"

Sue didn't have quite the same calm reaction as her husband, she looked a little more incredulously angry, "You did _what_?"

"Hey!" he protested, "Did you _want_ me to bring her out of the house still shooting fire? Huh?"

She groaned and rubbed her temples, "Johnny, there has _got_ to have been a better way than that, you don't know what you might have done to her!"

"Well I stopped her burning up, that's for damn sure," he shot back.

"God, did you think!" she demanded, "No, probably not. We need to help her, Johnny, what a great first impression you made."

"I had no choice," he defended, "She wasn't in a position to tame herself down, and I wasn't going to endanger everyone else out there by carrying her out, but I couldn't very well wait her out considering the house was _falling in on us_. Maybe next time you should go in."

"Well if you can't handle a situation maturely, maybe I should," she said.

Johnny felt his temper spike a little higher at that, a constant annoyance for him, was how often his big sister treated him as if he was still a kid. Sure, he liked to have fun, and he wasn't about to go start denying that fact. But that didn't mean that he was constantly unfocused, it didn't mean that he wasn't able to see how serious a situation was. Johnny just felt that they needed some light-hearted commentary sometimes, because otherwise being in a job like this would just drive you insane. Of course, to Susan, it seemed that he would forever remain the kid. Who apparently did nothing with his free time but mess around and flirt with girls. Okay, largely that was true, but it was an unfair assumption to make it seem like he couldn't handle himself when he had to.

To him, it seemed as if whatever he'd chosen to do with Shaelea would have gotten him a telling off. If he'd brought her out kicking and screaming, he'd have frightened the girl and endangered everyone. If he'd stayed in there, he'd be risking her life. He'd knocked her out, and now he'd somehow damaged her possible trust in them. He just couldn't win.

But, in situations such as these, those reasonings went on only inside his mind, what came out of his mouth was something altogether different. Reed was watching the Storm sibling fight with a resigned kind of weariness, no doubt just waiting for it to pass rather than risk wading into it, and Johnny stepped forward to retort to his sister. However, it seemed timing was against him, as he heard the heavy footsteps that signalled Ben's approach.

"I leave you all alone for ten minutes," the man grumbled as he walked in; carrying the blanket-wrapped girl in his arms, "And hotshot over there loses it."

"This was not all on me!" Johnny protested.

"It takes two to start a fight," Reed chastised; shooting a warning glance at Johnny, but also at his wife, "And I think we have more pressing matters to deal with right now."

"Right," Sue drew her official frame of mind on in a heartbeat, "Where should we put her?"

"I think waking up on a lab table might be a bit unsettling, might bring back memories if what her brother was saying is correct, and we don't want to freak her out even more after what just happened," Reed reasoned, "But we don't' really have a spare room…Sue, do you mind if we put her in our bed for now?"

She shook her head, "No, that's completely fine. Ben, how's she doing?"

"Well, she hasn't started stirring if that's what you mean," he replied, "But it's not like there have been any flaming repeats."

"Not stirring?" Susan questioned as they followed the Thing into the Richards' bedroom, "Jesus Christ, Johnny, how hard did you hit her?"

"He did what?" Ben whirled as soon as he'd set the girl down.

"I had to," Johnny said, "I needed to stop her being on fire, and she wasn't able to control her powers, that was my only option."

Ben just shook his head, "Smooth."

"Everyone's a critic," Johnny muttered.

Reed had already started ignoring everyone by this point, he began to examine Shaelea. Checking her pulse, breathing, and finally her temperature.

"Johnny, what's your standard temperature nowadays?" he asked; without looking up from the sleeping girl.

"Uhh…" he Johnny thought for a second, "210, or something like that, I don't exactly keep track."

"Whatever's wrong with her, it's very similar to you," Reed informed, "Her temperature is sitting at 208 for now, but she's fine in every other regard."

"Any idea when she'll wake up?" Sue asked.

Reed sighed, "No, it's not just a matter of how hard you did or didn't hit her, she could stay out for longer due to shock as well. I can't say for certain."

"Hell, do you think maybe Ben should stand back a bit?" Johnny inquired, "I mean, it can't do wonders for the mentally traumatised to wake up to _that_ face hovering over them."

Ban narrowed his eyes at the younger man, "Watch it, hotshot."

"Johnny, Ben isn't the one who hit her in the head," Sue said sweetly, "Nor has she seem him and screamed. And you know what's weird? Both those situations fit _you_, maybe you're the one who ought to step back a bit."

"Wait, what?" Ben sounded on the verge of laughter, "She screamed at him? As in, not out of fangirl adoration?"

Johnny sighed, "As I said, mentally traumatised, she isn't right in the head."

Ben actually burst out laughing now, "Oh this is priceless, pretty boy gets a reality check at last."

Johnny glared at him, "You are enjoying this way too much. Just cause it's normally _you_ who gets screamed at."

"You wanna start that?" Ben questioned.

"Come at me," Johnny challenged.

"Boys!" Sue cut in, "Shut up. Would you both jus focus outside your little testosterone battles for one situation?"

"Guys," Reed said softly.

"No," Johnny murmured mutinously, but in a quiet way.

"What was that?" Sue questioned.

"Nothing," Johnny damned her hearing.

"Guys," Reed said again, more insistently "Be quiet, she's waking up."

Within a second, everyone's attention was snapped onto the bed, and the girl now stirring there. Johnny had to admit to feeling a little like a creeper, as they all watched her raise a hand to her head and groan, before her eyelids began to flicker. Slowly, her eyes opened to reveal wide green irises that drifted over the room in a kind of daze, like she wasn't taking anything in. They skimmed over everyone, and Johnny tracked their path closely, meeting her gaze dead on when it reached him. Her eyes widened, and she jerked into a sitting position, her dead straight hair flying forwards over her shoulders in a light brown curtain.

She started pushing herself back away from everyone, raising a shaking arm to point at Johnny, "You, you were in the fire with me."

He arched an eyebrow, "Again, never had this reaction from a girl in bed before… something's definitely up here."

His sister whacked him over the head, _hard_, before turning to the girl with a smile, "Hi, what's your name?"

"Shaelea," she replied, "Shaelea Cartwright."

Sue nodded, "How-"

"Where am I?" the girl interrupted, before she could get further than a word into her sentence.

"You're in my apartment in the Baxter Building," Reed replied, "Do you remember everything that happened?"

She nodded, "Most of it. How come I'm here?"

"We thought this would be the safest place for you," Sue said, "And we want to help you figure out exactly what…what's happening to you."

"What-"

She broke off as she began coughing hard, Reed reached into the kitchen to grab her some water, and she accepted that with another nod of thanks, and not without looking a little cautiously at the arm he used to stretch and reach it. As she drank, she closed her eyes, but Johnny saw a tear make its lone way down her cheek. Something told him she might not be quite as calm as she seemed to be.

"What happened to Michael?" she asked, "My brother."

"The kid?" Johnny checked, "Oh, he was fine."

She looked down and drew her knees close up to her chin, "Did I hurt anyone?"

"No, no you didn't," Sue assured.

"That's good," she took a deep breath and exhaled it with a heavy sigh, "Do you… do you have any idea what's wrong with me?"

Reed shook his head, "I'm afraid we don't, but I promise you we'll do everything in our power to figure it out. In the meantime, are you okay with staying here?"

"Is it safe?" she asked quickly, "For you, I mean."

"Don't worry about us," Ben said, "In fact, I think we should be among the least of your worries right now."

She rubbed her arms as if against some kind of imagined cold, "I…I'm not sure."

They let her think without interruption, although Johnny _did_ open his mouth to say something, only to have Sue shut him up with the mother of all glares. Shaelea really didn't know what she wanted to do. At heart, she just wanted to go home. But over and over in her mind she could see the horrified expression on the faces of her parents as they looked at her, and how they ran to leave her scared and confused. There was not a home for her to go to now, and her options ran thin.

Okay, she had _no_ options really. A lack of friends wasn't serving her well right now, her family was alienated against her and she's just destroyed their house, she had no other relatives. Yet is she agreed, she'd be consenting to live with a group of strangers that she periodically watched news items about as they saved the world. Not something she felt entirely comfortable with considering recent events.

She looked over the people who would be her flatmates should she consent. Reed Richards was probably her best chance of getting to the bottom of this mess, he gave her a small smile when her eyes rested on him, just one that to her spoke of understanding. As if, whatever choice she made, it'd be the right one. Something about that just made her feel… well, she wasn't exactly sure, but it wasn't something she'd felt in a very long time. Susan Richards was watching Shaelea with an expression akin to pity in her eyes, but something not quite like that, nothing contemptuous, it was more of that understanding.

Shaelea would have been lying if she said she didn't feel a little afraid of Ben Grimm, the man's appearance didn't lend itself to putting people at ease. But she knew at heart he _was_ a good guy, it was just that automatic slight recoil that her reflex had. But he was clearly trying to make himself seem as unintimidating as possible, almost trying to shrink himself into the distance for her benefit. But strangely enough, the most cautiousness in her mind sprung up when she looked at Johnny Storm. For his part, he was studying her with some level of curiosity, a trademark slight smirk playing around his mouth, but all she could see was the flames around him when he'd walked in after her.

So, they might not be her ideal pick, but right now they were all she had. What ere her other choices? Go out and find someplace in the city to stay? Yeah, that'd go well. Be surrounded by people who were just as much strangers as the Fantastic 4 were to her, but without the security that staying here would bring. Shaelea didn't shove aside her doubts, she kept them in the forefront of her mind, but she knew the answer she'd have to give. And weird as it was, all her brain could think of was how Michael would have kicked her for even thinking of saying no.

"So long as it's okay, yeah, I'll stay here," she agreed.

As soon as the words were out of her mouth, she knew that she couldn't take them back. Now all she had to do was wait to see if she would ever want to.


	5. Here To Stay

"_Somewhere weakness is our strength  
And I'll die searching for it  
I can't let myself regret such selfishness  
My pain and all the trouble caused"  
~Paramore, 'Let The Flames Begin'_

**Thanks for the reviews: Maddie Rose, ****Taiyalin, L. **

**AN/ I now have a photobucket page to which I am going to upload banners, Everything Fades is the first up there, please check it out! www . photobucket everything _ fades _ banners  
All you have to do, is take out the spaces :)**

Chapter 5: Here To Stay

She looked completely unsure of herself as she agreed to move in with a bunch of people who were pretty much strangers, and Johnny couldn't really blame her. Hell, he remembered how _he'd_ felt when he'd been told he'd have to move in with this lot, and he'd at least known them. It must be weird for her, he remembered his own reaction to his powers, and it had been about as different from hers as was possible, but he supposed he could control his. That was a strange thing, how he could have that and she couldn't, yet other than that their abilities seemed the same.

"Excellent," Reed's voice broke into his thoughts, "We'll do our best to help figure out what has happened to you."

She smiled faintly, "Thanks."

"Uh, guys, hate to interrupt, but we only have limited bedrooms," Johnny pointed out.

Shaelea's eyes widened, "Oh, who's bed am I in now? Sorry!"

Sue eased her back down when she tried to push the covers back and swing her legs over the side, "Hey, its fine. You're using mine and Reed's right now," she said, "You rest for as long as you need it."

Johnny smirked, "Provided you don't mind what's gone down in there."

His sister shot him a scathing look, but Shaelea just grimaced and otherwise ignored his comment, "I feel alright, just got a bit of a sore head." She rubbed a hand across her forehead, and once more her green gaze slid in Johnny's direction, "Am I right in remembering you hit me?"

"Yeah, and he's sorry for that," Sue spoke for her brother.

"Hey, I am not a kid anymore, I can speak for myself," he muttered.

"Maybe, but you always offend someone when you do," Ben put in.

Johnny frowned, "I resent that, big guy."

Ben rolled his shoulders, "You want to start this kiddo?"

Before Johnny could step towards the man made of rock, Shaelea leaned forwards and grabbed his arm, "Well, thanks."

He looked down at the hand on his arm, and laughed softly, "You have got to be the strangest girl I've met, scream when you see me, and then thank me for hitting you. What's next?"

"I just meant, at least it stopped..." she paused and pulled back, "What was happening."

"Don't mention it," he replied, "And I mean that, not good for people to hear that I-"

"And this is why we don't let you speak for yourself," Susan cut in, "Shaelea, are you sure you don't want to get more rest? It's still night time, there's no need to get up."

"Mother hen," Johnny muttered; but too softly for anyone to hear.

"I don't think that I particularly want to sleep," she said, "And at any rate, I feel weird using your bed."

Johnny grinned, "So, the thought of what went down in there _does_ get to you!"

"Anyway," Reed steered the conversation away before Shaelea could open her mouth for a retort, "We still have to sort out where you'll sleep while you remain here..."

"I can take the couch!" Shaelea assured quickly.

"Oh, that's no issue," Sue said calmly.

Johnny arched an eyebrow, "It isn't?"

His beloved sister only smiled, "Well, since you're _such_ a mature guy, I'm _sure_ that you have no problems taking the couch and Shaelea will have your room."

"Excuse me?" he said.

"What?" Shaelea questioned at the same time.

Ben laughed, "Finally, the kid has to do something that isn't selfish, wonder if he's capable."

"Is there a problem, Johnny?" Sue asked; arching an eyebrow delicately.

He glowered at her, "Isn't there another way?"

"No," she replied.

"We could share?" he winked at Shaelea.

"I'd rather take the couch," the younger girl assured quickly.

Her light grimace made Johnny feel just a _little _bit guilty, it probably wasn't a good time to pull out innuendoes like that after what had just happened, but somehow he always just managed to slip something in.

"Nonsense!" Reed put it, "You're a guest here."

"I'd rather that than share," she said; completely avoiding sending any looks Johnny's way.

"I think I like her," Ben murmured.

The guilt vanished as he looked her over carefully, "Are you sure you're a girl?"

"Excuse me?" she demanded.

"Just your reactions," he shrugged, "Not normally how girls act around me."

"Wow...and I thought rumours of your arrogance were just blown up by the media."

Ben started laughing, "No, I definitely like her."

Shaelea gave him a smile, if a little hesitantly, and before Johnny had that chance to break up the little alliance before they both ganged up on him, his sister took his arm.

"Johnny, can I have a word?"

"No," he replied quickly; dreading it already.

"Thanks," she said with fake cheerfulness; and tugged him out of the room anyway.

"So, can you tell me more about what this feels like?" Reed inquired.

Johnny didn't hear Shaelea's answer, before Susan shut the door and turned to him. He winced before she'd even started talking, that level of glare had not been turned on him since he was a teenager, but he hadn't forgotten it. He could tell that Sue was about to go into her maternal mode on him, and he was not looking forward to it one bit.

"Johnny Storm, have you not matured mentally beyond your teenage years?"

"Why do I get the feeling that we've had this conversation before? You always start along the same lines," he noted.

"Maybe that's because you never seem to get the message," she retorted.

"Maybe that's because I don't want to," he said; leaning casually against the wall as he faced her.

"Argh!" she threw her hands up as she gave a short cry of annoyance, "Can you just _grow up_?"

"Okay, mind if I ask what earned me this particular onslaught?"

She pointed back at the room, "We have a girl, who is now staying with us, who went through something that is quite severely emotionally traumatic. She's probably scared, confused, freaking out, and trying to put a brave face on it all. And what do you stand there doing? Cracking jokes and flirting with her! She's _seventeen_, don't you have limits?"

"Hey, maybe having someone not treat her like she's suddenly made of glass will be good for her, you know how people cope in different ways? Well her way might be mine," he pointed out.

"Oh yeah, because you were doing such a great job in there," she rolled her eyes sarcastically, "Seriously, Johnny, could you be mature just this once about a situation?"

"Well, what do you want from me?" he asked; spreading his hands, "Define 'acting mature' with regards to these events, and I'll see what I can do."

She shook her head, "Not good enough. You're far past the age where you should have grown up."

"Are you calling me old?" he questioned.

"See?" she gave a frustrated sigh, "That's exactly what I'm talking about."

He raked a hand through his short hair, "Sis, I am who I am, and that's all I can be. And I'm pretty happy with it."

"How about just for now? While we've got Shaelea here, please, do you think you could put a lid on some of your behaviour?"

He gave her a long and assessing look, his sister looked almost desperate for him to say yes. Johnny heaved a sigh, "Alright, I guess I do have limits, she's only seventeen, I'll stop the flirting-joking thing." Then he remembered the uncontrollable tendency to make innuendoes, "Uh, inasmuch as is within my power."

"And you'll act sensibly?" she inquired; arching one eyebrow, and dropping the other matter, probably knowing that that was the best she'd get out of him.

"Yes, yes," he assured, "I'll be the perfect gentleman."

Sue looked sceptical, "Swear it?"

"I swear," he echoed; trying to suppress the grin he felt rising.

She eyed him up and down, and suddenly she didn't look angry at him, she just looked sad. Crap, he hated it when she got that look, it meant that she was going to play the disappointment card, and he _much _preferred the anger. At least he could fend that off with his devil-may-care attitude, the disappointment? That just made him feel…bad.

"Johnny… how did it come to this? Maybe I should have spent more time looking after you after mum and dad-" she cut off, that was not a happy memory for either of them, and he put his hands on her shoulders, making her look up at him.

"Hey, how I am isn't your fault," he internally winced, he hated having to do this, it was as close as he ever got to admitting he had issues, "I'm lazy, self-centred and immature; that's just how I am. I've come to accept it, it's just me."

She shook her head, "But it isn't, it's just what you think you are."

He sighed, and pulled back, this conversation had strayed way too off topic for his liking, "We should get back in there."

"You're right," she cast a glance over her shoulder, "I hope Reed didn't get too carried away with asking her questions."

"Ha," he snorted; making for the door, "No offence, sis, but your husband isn't exactly one to-"

And speak of the devil, before Johnny's hand had even touched the handle, the door itself sprung open, and he was almost cannoned into by his brother-in-law. Reed barely even noticed as Johnny jumped back with a 'whoa!' of shock. The expression on the scientist's face was one that Johnny had seen a lot of, and Johnny groaned internally, and maybe just a little externally. Sue, evidently, also recognised the look on her husband's face.

"Reed…" she said cautiously.

But he seemed oblivious to the looks from the Storm siblings, rubbing his hands together eagerly, "I was talking to Shaelea-"

"No shit," the sarcastic little comment slipped out before Johnny could help it, and he gave only a small shrug in reply to the glare his sister sent his way. He'd meant what he said, but as he'd phrased it, he could only do as much as was within his control.

Contrary to his wife, Reed didn't really pay attention to the interruption, "She really didn't feel like she needed, or wanted, more rest, so I asked if I could perhaps begin studying her-"

"What?" For once, it wasn't Johnny who interrupted, Sue stood with her hands on her hips and was now fully glaring her husband down, "You can't do that!"

"Huh, why?" Reed just looked confused.

"She's still in shock! She got home this afternoon after spending days being experimented on, she found out that she had weird powers after burning her house down, and she got knocked out. Now you want to put more needles in her?"

"I resent the last reason for her being shocked," Johnny murmured; and was immensely grateful when his sister didn't hear him, or if she did, she was ignoring her little brother.

Reed however, now had the grace to look a little sheepish as he faced his wife's anger, "Well…she said it would be okay."

Sue groaned and slapped a palm to her forehead, "_Men!_"

"What's the supposed to mean?" Johnny demanded; but backed down soon after seeing Sue's glare, even he had limits on pushing her. So he just turned and poked his head into the room, "Hey, where is the little lab-rat?"

"Johnny!"

He winced, having his name shouted at high decibels by three people wasn't exactly a fun onslaught for his ears, "Hey, what's the big idea?"

Ben just shook his head, "How, how did you grow up without learning tact? Oh wait…you didn't grow up."

Johnny scowled and opened his mouth to retort, when Reed answered his question, "She's just in the bathroom, changing."

"Changing? Into what?" Johnny questioned.

Despite him having not put any extra meaning behind his words, he still got a warning look from his sister. Sheesh, he flirted and he got in trouble, he didn't flirt, and he _still _got in trouble. There was just no winning when you played against Susan Storm.

"I said that Shaelea could borrow some of your clothes," Reed said; speaking to his wife, "I hope that's okay."

"No, no, that's fine," she assured; rubbing tiredly at her temples, "God, this is all happening kind of fast."

"Tell me about it."

They all turned at the new voice, and Shaelea stood by the door. Johnny nearly jumped away from her, not out of shock that she was wearing his sister's clothes, which was weird, but because he hadn't even heard her coming up to him. Jesus Christ, did she make noise at all when not talking?

The tired expression on Sue's face slipped underneath a little mask of concern, well, he shouldn't call it a mask, she really was concerned, but was just hiding anything else.

"Shaelea," she said gently, "Are you sure you want to do this now? It can wait." She directed a pointed look at her husband with the last sentence, but Reed didn't notice, too busy setting up his lab.

The seventeen year old fiddled with the sleeves of the borrowed blouse. She was a little scared about going near a lab again, even if it seemed as if this whole place was a lab, but the alternative was doing nothing, which just left her to her thoughts, and that was something she dearly wanted to avoid. She looked down at her arm, and if she shut her eyes, she could still see the fire flaring up from it, and hear her little brother's panicked screams.

"Hey, you alright?"

She jerked her head up and her eyes flew open again, when she felt someone grab her shoulder and shake her lightly. She met the blue eyes of Johnny Storm, and while there was a little bit of worry in there, it was mostly sardonic amusement that she saw. She pulled away quickly, still feeling nervous around him after the incident at her house, and his overly casual nature didn't exactly help either.

"Yeah, I'm fine," she replied; shifting away from his slightly, an action that only made his lips twitch up into a wry half-smile.

"Shall we get started?" Reed inquired; looking up from his machinery.

She swallowed dryly, and nodded, "Would I be able to have a glass of water first?"

"Of course," Sue replied, "Johnny, be a _gentleman_ and go get it, won't you?"

A challenging look seemed to pass between the Storm siblings, before Johnny just nodded tightly, "Sure, no problem."

A rumbling chuckle came from behind her, and she turned to see the Thing. Mentally, she hit herself, calling him that wasn't going to make her any less nervous around him. She didn't want to be, but it was just...she supposed she wasn't used to it.

"You know what? I think I'm going to like having you around, especially if it turns Johnny into a maid," he said.

She managed a little smile, but was prevented from replying when a glass of water appeared next to her, she took it from Johnny with a nod of thanks.

He flashed her a grin in reply, before switching his gaze to Ben Grimm, "Hey, don't get any ideas, big guy. I'm not going to be fetching _you_ any water."

Shaelea turned away from the verbal sparring match that ensued after that, and walked over to Dr. Richards, "So...what are you planning on doing?"

"Nothing serious," he assured, "I just want to run some tests on you, and maybe see just how it is that your powers work, especially in comparison with Johnny's."

"Alright," she nodded slowly, trying to get past her nervousness. _It's okay,_ she thought to herself, _this is all to help you, they'll figure it out, and maybe be able to make you normal again._ Even though she knew that even if she did get back to normal, there was no way that her family would take her in again. She remembered the looks of horror on her parents' faces, and a light shudder crept over her. But she stood a little straighter, and looked Reed in the eye, "Okay, let's start."


	6. Inconvenient Necessity

"_These back steps are steeper to the ground  
The brightest stars are falling down  
I'm walking the edge, walking the tightest rope  
We can be frank, reality rips on through, rolling like a hurricane."  
~Mat Kearney, 'Crashing Down'_

**Thanks for reviewing: ****L. , Guest, kitten, Maddie Rose, StoryLover, Rumbleroar'sSlumberingCubs, Guest  
Guest: I'm going by the movies here, and this is set after the Silver Surfer (but I haven't seen that, hence the lack of reference in the story), so Johnny is somewhere in his mid-twenties, maybe 26 or so.  
A.N. I promise no speedy updates, this is only going up because it was nearly finished when I went on hiatus, and I've had a tiny bit more time lately. Sorry, but come summer, I swear I'll be back properly!**

Chapter 6: Inconvenient Necessity 

Shaelea shifted around nervously as Reed began almost jumping all over his laboratory, setting up machines, grabbing tools whose names Shaelea didn't even want to hazard a guess at. This sure was going to be a far cry from Senior Chemistry, and she hadn't even taken that, she'd dropped the sciences when she'd gone into Junior year. The rest of them seemed fairly at home in the lab too, and she supposed that most of their apartment really _was_ the lab, but beyond that she remembered that they were all somewhat versed in science. She forgot, and knew that a lot of other people did, that the Fantastic 4 had just started off as scientists and astronauts. Watching Susan and Reed get to work, she was reminded of that fact.

"Pretty neat, huh?"

Shaelea's head whipped around, and almost smacked into Johnny Storm's face, she hadn't felt him come closer to her until he'd spoken almost right next to her ear. Since he showed no sign of going to move back, she took a step away from him. The slight arch of his eyebrows showed that he noticed this little movement, but he made no other comment, and she realised he was still waiting on a reply from her.

"Yeah," she nodded, "I haven't really been in a science lab since I was a Sophomore, and this is way bigger than anything my high school had anyway."

He laughed, "I should think so. This place does take a little getting used to though, just try not to touch anything, it might explode."

"Oh, real-"

"Johnny!" Sue snapped; looking momentarily up from typing some data into a machine to give her brother a glare, before returning to her work.

Shaelea felt her face flush in embarrassment, and didn't even want to look up and see what kind of a smug expression would be on Johnny's face, she made a mental note to wait for a second opinion before she believed anything he ever said again.

She didn't really feel that comfortable around Johnny Storm, she wondered how much of it was just teenage nerves though. He _was_ quite attractive, and she knew that he flirted a lot with almost any girl, and despite everything she did have to admit that his personality had a kind of charm to it. The fact that Shaelea's experience with guys stemmed from one boyfriend in Junior year probably didn't do her any favours in terms of knowing how to act around guys. But none of that was what she thought of when she looked at Johnny. Sure, she did look at him and feel nervous, but that wasn't because she'd started some kind of crush on the guy she'd met only that night.

That was it, why she felt so weird around him. It was because of what had happened at her house, when he had been the only one able to walk into the flames and get her out. She supposed that she was grateful, he had been able to stop her from burning up, even if he'd used…uncommon methods, but he also scared her in a way. He was a reminder of everything that she couldn't control, and how that lack on control had led her to where she was now. Not that his flippant nature helped, maybe if he was a little more serious she could handle him better, but he just didn't seem to even understand exactly how much of her thoughts were revolving around what had happened.

"Shaelea? Would you be able to come over and just lie on the lab table?"

Susan's tone was as light and gentle as the hand she laid on Shaelea's arm, but none the less, the words 'lab table' sent a spike of fear running through her. She felt herself flinch and tense up automatically, her vision was momentarily clouded by broken images of another lab. Different people, wearing masks and talking in hushed voices. Needles stabbing into her. Then the burning, the burning all over, the burning that hadn't stopped. It was all too much, she felt herself breathing coming in gasps, and her heart began to race.

"Hey, hey," someone put an arm around her, "Easy, it's okay, we're not gonna hurt you."

This time, when she looked into Johnny's eyes, the amusement wasn't present, just concern. And she also realised then that she had started shaking, he lightly rubbed her arm. The comforting gesture was gentle, and while she found it slightly disconcerting following his normal behaviour pattern, she didn't shrug off his arm.

"We don't have to do this,' Sue assured quickly, "You should take some time first."

Taking a deep breath, Shaelea screwed her eyes shut and tried furiously to dispel the images that paraded through her mind. That wasn't here, that wasn't now. Here and now were going to fix what had been done there, she just had to get over it. Shaelea tried to find it in herself to start thinking straight again, but control kept slipping just out of reach. Eventually, she thought of her brother. She couldn't let him down, and she knew that he had enough faith in her to think she could get through this.

"Reed, stop," Sue called out, "This isn't the right time. We can-"

"No," Shaelea cut in; opening her eyes and raising her face to meet Susan's eyes, "I want to get this started, the sooner the better, right?"

"She says seconds after shaking in terror…" Johnny murmured softly; probably not intending for her to hear him, so she ignored his comment and shook off the contact with him, stepping away once again.

"Are you sure?" Reed checked; now looking slightly more cautious about proceeding, "If we continue, it might just bring up…things you'd rather not have brought up. It might actually be better for your mental health if we wait."

Shaelea _wanted_ to retort that her mental health was fine, but she didn't really think that any of them would buy it, so she simply said, "Please, I just want to figure out what's wrong with me."

Reed and Susan shared a measuring look, but after a while she gave a heavy sigh.

"Alright, fine."

They all stood there for a moment, with an expecting kind of silence hanging in the room, and Shaelea realised that she hadn't moved a muscle towards the table, despite her assurances. Taking a deep breath, she forced the memories out of her mind, and did her uttermost to focus on an image of her brother. Michael thought that she could do this, he had more faith in her than she had in herself, she didn't want to let him down.

Trying to make it look like she wasn't forcing every step she took, she made her way over to the lightly padded table. A single blink of her eyes, and it transformed into a different one, another blink, and it was back to normal. Shaelea now also tried not to blink.

"Okay, now just lie here," Susan said gently; helping to ease Shaelea back on the table.

She bit her lip, and kept her eyes trained on the ceiling directly above her. She didn't want to look around and see all of the lab equipment, in case in reminded her, and in case her memories made her unable to go through with this.

"Shaelea?" Reed's face appeared within her line of vision, "I'm just going to take a little of your blood, for tests later, is that alright?"

She kept her eyes focused directly on his face, and did her best not to acknowledge the syringe he held in his other hand, "Yes."

Carefully, he wiped an antiseptic swab over the vein in her elbow, and then he must have made some gesture that Shaelea didn't see, because Johnny suddenly started talking.

"You know, I always hated immunisations," he said conversationally, "Don't know why, they just always made me uncomfortable, I don't like being pricked with things."

"He used to try faking sick on immunisation days," Susan added, "And when that didn't work, I think he just skipped school."

There was a prick of pain in her arm, and Shaelea turned to face away from it, joining their conversation to distract herself, "I never liked them either, I'm not sure that many people do."

"And yet, some sadist goes around to primary schools every year," Johnny shook his head and propped himself up on a bench, "Cruel."

"Hey, Johnny," Sue said casually, "Didn't it once take two teachers and the principal to hold you down?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about," he answered quickly.

Shaelea bit back a laugh, "Three people?"

"My sister lies, she just likes to make me look bad," he replied.

"I think you do that well enough on your own, kid," Ben added.

"All done."  
Shaelea's head had moved automatically upon hearing Reed talk, and she wished that it hadn't. When he said 'all done', he didn't mean that he'd put the syringe down, and it was now full of her blood.

She dropped her eyes quickly, "So, what now?"

"I if I could just hook you up to a thermal measuring device, and then maybe you tell us a little more about what happened. You see, you do have a higher than average temperature, but not as high as it was when you first got here, and not quite as high as Johnny's, except you seem to burn the same way as him, it's possible that this was a one-event flare up, but maybe it's dependant on some kind of triggering. If we-"

"Reed, as much as everyone in the room loves the sound of your voice," Johnny said sarcastically, "Think maybe you could cut a little quicker to the chase?"

"Oh, right," Reed got a hold of himself, "Simply, I want to see if perhaps, because your temperature is now closer to normal, it was a one-time thing."

"What if...what if I do it again?" she asked.

"You won't, if your temperature starts climbing, we'll stop and cool you down," he assured.

"He's not kidding, they got me with an army of fire extinguishers once," Johnny put in dryly.

"I'm sure there was a reason," she said; although to be honest, they could just as easily have simply been annoyed at him.

"He was about to go super-nova in the middle of the lab," Susan moved forwards to help he husband.

"Alright, Shaelea, these won't hurt a bit," Reed was holding up a bunch of gel caps attached to a variety of red cables.

She nodded mutely, but didn't want to really think about being hooked up to anything, "What will they do?"

"Just measure your temperature while we talk, and feed the information back to a sensor," he said; beginning to place them on her.

In the end, she had two on her temple, two on her chest, and one on each arm. Even after Reed said the machine was turned on, all she felt was little patches of cold from the sticking gel, but lying on the table, with a bunch of scientists around and cables coming off of her, she felt a bit like a lab-rat.

"Okay, Shaelea, are you alright with me asking some question about what happened?" Reed inquired.

_Not really_, was her brain's automatic response, but she stopped it before it came out of her mouth. If she was ever going to get rid of this problem, then she had to just suck it up and get it over with. God, and to think she'd been dreading graduation and university, that seemed so much nicer all of a sudden.

"I don't mind."

He nodded, "So, what exactly happened?"

She took a moment, his question made the memories flare up instantly, but she didn't want to just garble out what had happened. It all wanted to come out in a rush, but that would make no sense to anyone. Trying to calm herself, she focused on here and now, clenching her fists tightly to stop her hands from writhing around.

"A few days ago, when I was walking back from school, someone or some people just grabbed me from behind. I didn't have time to see much, before they hit me in the back of the head. Next time I regained consciousness, I was in this lab, I-" she cut off, her breath coming in quicker gasps now, she screwed her eyes shut. God, she could see it all, she could feel it all over again.

"Reid," Susan's sharp voice held a warning note, "Her temperature-"

"Jesus Christ!" Johnny exclaimed.

Shaelea snapped her eyes open, and saw that she was once again aflame. The gel caps holding the cables to her body had melted, and the soft padding on the table had now caught alight as well. A despairing wail welled up in her throat, would she never stop making a mess of everything?

"Shaelea! Shaelea? Can you, uh, turn it off?" Reed called; he'd had to back away with everyone else.

"I don't know how!" she cried; curling in on herself so as to more minimise the fiery areas.

Right in front of her eyes, she saw another one of those fireballs shoot out from the flames surrounding her, it was going straight for Reed.

"No!"

She leaned forwards, outstretching her arms as if she could catch it and draw it back, but Johnny beat her. He all but launched himself in front of the fire and his brother-in-law, the blaze hitting him harmlessly. Her mind was in a panicked craze. What if she'd hurt Dr. Richards? What if she completely destroyed his lab and home? Why couldn't she control these powers that she didn't want? A weight pressed down on her, and she found herself looking right up into the face of Johnny Storm.

"In case of more fireballs," he said.

Shaelea didn't get a chance to reply, before a cascade of cold water rained down over the both of them. Spluttering, she wiped water out of her eyes, trying to reorient herself after the sudden change in state. Still, at least the flames were gone.

"You okay?" Johnny inquired; hair dripping off of his short hair.

She nodded, and he got up off her, backing away once more. She realised with a start that she clothes had kind of burnt off, and a flush spread instantly over her face. Susan was at her side in a moment, wrapping a blanket around her shoulders, and helping cover her up.

"Sorry about your clothes," Shaelea said lamely; remembering that the items hadn't even belonged to her in the first place.

"Don't worry," Susan assured, "Are you alright?"

"I...think so," she replied; looking around to survey the damage, she saw Ben standing close by, a now empty large bucket in his rock-hands, "Oh, thank you."

"Don't mention it, kid," he said gruffly.

"Right...well...that was unexpected," Reed ran a hand through his hair, "It seems like your powers are almost triggered by your moods, Susan's were like that at first, anger mostly, but-" a glare from his wife cut him off.

"What if it happens again?" Shaelea asked, "What if I hurt someone the next time?"

"I did have an idea about that..." Reed trailed off, and shared a meaningful glance with his wife.

Understanding dawned in Susan's eyes, "Reed, Reed you can't be serious."

"It's the only way," he argued, "It will keep her safe, and everything else."

"What's this top secret plan?" Johnny inquired; scrubbing a hand through his hair to shake the water out.

"You have to stay close to Shaelea, at almost all times," Reed said.

"What?" Shaelea demanded.

"What!?" Johnny exclaimed.

"You can't be serious, leaving the kid alone with him?" Ben sounded heavily sceptical.

"It's the only way!" he argued again, "With your powers, Johnny, you can help Shaelea control hers if another outburst happens."

"But...baby-sitting...it's not my thing," Johnny complained.

"I'll work on it, I'll try keep myself as calm as possible, I'll walk around with a fire extinguisher," Shaelea almost babbled.

It wasn't that she didn't like Johnny, he seemed like an alright kind of guy, womanising and egotistical behaviour aside. But spending large amounts of time with him? She had the suspicion that she might go slightly mad. Logic screamed that it was the right thing to do, but everyone else in the room, apart from Reed, seemed to be set again logic.

But, inconvenient as it was, keeping her controlled was also a necessity until they figured out more about her powers. Reed eventually won out the argument, and so not only was Shaelea now moving in with a group of strangers, but she was going to be practically glued to one of them. Great.


End file.
